Abb.: "Puck
magazine cartoon, "The Infant Hercules and the Standard Oil serpents", May 23,
1906 issue; depicting U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt grabbing the head of
Nelson W. Aldrich and the snake-like body of John D. Rockefeller."
[Bildquelle: Wikipedia. -- Public domain]

"Phraya Ratsadanupradit Mahitsaraphakdi (Thai:
พระยารัษฎานุประดิษฐ์มหิศรภักดี;
1857–1916, born Khaw Sim Bee (Thai: คอซิมบี้ , Chinese:
許心美) was a
Thai provincial administrator. He is the youngest of the six sons[1]
of Khaw Soo Cheang, a trader from Zhangzhou (漳州) in China.[2]

As a member of the na Ranong
(ณ ระนอง) family which held the
governor's post in Ranong (ระนอง) for generations, Khaw was assigned to become governour
of Trang (ตรัง)
in 1890. His most significant contribution was the introduction of the
rubber tree to Thailand, which at his time was only grown in Malaysia. It has
since become one of the major crops of Thailand. He also initiated the
connection of Trang with Nakhon Si Thammarat (นครศรีธรรมราช) and Phatthalung
(พัทลุง) by road as well as
the railroad connection to Nakhon Si Thammarat, one of the first railroads of
Thailand.

In 1902 he was assigned to become the commissioner of
Monthon Phuket (มณฑลภูเก็ต), which he stayed till his death in 1916.

A monument commemorating him was erected in the city of
Trang. In 1992 he was also honored as one of the five most distinguished
government officials in administration.

Lest those who read the following pages should
deem this story at all improbable, it is perhaps necessary to say
that its chief incidents are founded on an actual occurrence which
took place in Naples during the last scathing visitation of the
cholera in 1884. We know well enough, by the chronicle of daily
journalism, that the infidelity of wives is, most unhappily,
becoming common—far too common for the peace and good repute of
society. Not so common is an outraged husband's vengeance—not often
dare he take the law into his own hands—for in England, at least,
such boldness on his part would doubtless be deemed a worse crime
than that by which he personally is doomed to suffer. But in Italy
things are on a different footing—the verbosity and red-tape of the
law, and the hesitating verdict of special juries, are not there
considered sufficiently efficacious to sooths a man's damaged honor
and ruined name. And thus—whether right or wrong—it often happens
that strange and awful deeds are perpetrated—deeds of which the
world in general hears nothing, and which, when brought to light at
last, are received with surprise and incredulity. Yet the romances
planned by the brain of the novelist or dramatist are poor in
comparison with the romances of real life-life wrongly termed
commonplace, but which, in fact, teems with tragedies as great and
dark and soul-torturing as any devised by Sophocles or Shakespeare.
Nothing is more strange than truth—nothing, at times, more terrible!

MARIE CORELLI.
August, 1886."

"Marie Corelli (1
May 1855 – 21 April 1924) was a British novelist. She enjoyed a
period of great literary success from the publication of her first
novel in 1886 until World War I. Corelli's novels sold more copies
than the combined sales of popular contemporaries, including Arthur
Conan Doyle, H. G. Wells, and Rudyard Kipling, although critics
often derided her work as "the favourite of the common multitude.""

Campbell, John Gordon Drummond <1864 - 1935>:
Siam in the twentieth century : being the experiences and impressions of
a British official. -- London : Arnold, 1902. -- 332 S. : Ill. ; 23 cm.
-- "One of His Majesty's Inspectors of Schools and recently Educational
Advisor of the Siamese Government"

Abb.: Titelblatt

"John Gordon Drummond
Campbell (15 February 1864 – 11 January 1935)[1]
was a British barrister and Conservative Party politician who served
from 1918 to 1922 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for
Kingston-upon-Thames in Surrey.[2]

He was the son of Colonel
Archibald Neil Campbell[3]
of Craignish[4]
and was educated at Charterhouse School,[3][5]
from where he won a scholarship to Corpus Christi College, Oxford,
gaining a first-class degree in classics.[4]
He was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1890,[3]
and was one of His Majesty's Inspector of Schools from 1892 to 1909.[6]
He worked for two[2]
or three[4]
years as educational adviser to King Chulalongkorn of Siam, writing
a book Siam in the Twentieth Century (1902).[3]

A strong unionist and
tariff reformer,[4]
Campbell first stood for Parliament at the January 1910 general
election, when he was unsuccessful in the Mansfield division of
Nottinghamshire, which was then a safe seat for the Liberal Party.[7]
He contested the December 1910 election in the more-winnable Eccles
division of Lancashire, but failed to oust the sitting Liberal MP
Sir George Pollard.[8]

He won a seat on his third
attempt, when he was elected at the 1918 general election as the
Coalition Unionist MP for the safe seat of Kingston-upon-Thames,[9][10]
replacing the Home Secretary George Cave who had been ennobled as
Viscount Cave. In August 1921, Campbell was one of 31 Unionist MPs
dissatisfied with the Liberal-led Coalition Government who signed a
manifesto pledging that after the next election they would hold
themselves independent of any of the political parties on matters
concerning the economy and finance.[11]

By late 1922, Unionist
discontent at the coalition led to a meeting at the Carlton Club in
October 1922 where the Unionists decided to withdraw from the
coalition. The collapse of the government triggered the 1922 general
election, when Campbell stood down from the House of Commons,[9]
due to ill-health."

"In the case of tropical
peoples especially, erroneous impressions are apt to be formed. They
resemble children in many respects. They are docile and
impressionable, but, like children, though they may have acquired
the surface manners of grown-up people, they act from different
motives and under different sanctions. We must, therefore, pause
before we hastily assume that, having reached a certain point, their
characters are fully formed, and that they are capable of dispensing
with all external restraint in the future."

[a.a.O., S. 95]

"...they are little more
than a nation of full-grown children. The serious business of life
is quite beyond them; what appeals to them are its show, its scenic
effects, and its pageantries.. .Few Siamese seem really capable of
grasping the serious nature of work. A Cabinet Council will break
off suddenly in the midst of a discussion to admire some new
European toy brought in by one of its members. For, like children,
the Siamese have a passion for novelty... ."

[a.a.O., S. 106]

Campbell über die Zukunft Siams:

"What at present is the
outlook? She [Siam] has nothing to hope from France. On her other
side is Great Britain, who has no wish for her territory, and would
gladly help her to retain as large a measure of independence as
possible, but who at the same time cannot save her in spite of
herself. The only course open, it seems to me, premising always that
she does not ultimately prove capable of self-government, is for her
to give British officers a real control in the conduct of
her affairs, and in return to ask for British protection against
outside aggression. Whether Great Britain would, or would not,
accept such a is another matter. She could only do so at the risk of
giving offence to France, though nobody could maintain that her
acceptance was an infringement of the treaty of 1896. It would
hardly be possible for Great Britain on the other hand, either on
political or purely commercial grounds, to allow France to annex the
country. If she shrank from imposing on herself the burden of a
protectorate, the only alternative would seem to be to allow a less
powerful people, as for example the Dutch, who perhaps know how to
manage Orientals in some respects better than anybody else, to take
over the country subject to certain conditions and
restrictions. British commerce, which would be practically destroyed
in the case of French annexation, might thus be safeguarded, and it
would not be necessary to protect the Burmese frontier against a
great military Power. The question may seem an academic one, and
certainly may not arise for solution for years; on the other hand,
some unexpected turn of events may cause it to become urgent, and it
would be well that our Government should make up its mind beforehand
what course to adopt, in case it has to act on an emergency."

"In March, 1903, Gabriel Contesse received the
visit of two Buddhist monks who wanted to enquire about this new doctrine.
One of them said he would teach them the Lao language. Without renouncing
Buddhism, he left the monkhood and his yellow robes in order to give this
service – a natural undertaking for these monks who are not bound for
life. He was engaged to translate the Gospel of John from Siamese to Lao.
This is how the first translator of the Bible was a Buddhist,
collaborating with the pioneer missionaries."

[Quelle: The
Gospel in the land of a million elephants by Sylvain Dupertuis, written
for the centenary of Mission in that country.

"The ship, after a pause
of comparative steadiness, started upon a series of rolls, one worse
than the other, and for a time Jukes, preserving his equilibrium,
was too busy to open his mouth. As soon as the violent swinging had
quieted down somewhat, he said: "This is a bit too much of a good
thing. Whether anything is coming or not I think she ought to be put
head on to that swell. The old man is just gone in to lie down. Hang
me if I don't speak to him."

But when he opened the door of the chart-room he
saw his captain reading a book. Captain MacWhirr was not lying down:
he was standing up with one hand grasping the edge of the bookshelf
and the other holding open before his face a thick volume. The lamp
wriggled in the gimbals, the loosened books toppled from side to
side on the shelf, the long barometer swung in jerky circles, the
table altered its slant every moment. In the midst of all this stir
and movement Captain MacWhirr, holding on, showed his eyes above the
upper edge, and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Swell getting worse,
sir."

"Noticed that in here,"
muttered Captain MacWhirr. "Anything wrong?"

Jukes, inwardly
disconcerted by the seriousness of the eyes looking at him over the
top of the book, produced an embarrassed grin.

"Rolling like old boots,"
he said, sheepishly.

"Aye! Very heavy--very
heavy. What do you want?"

At this Jukes lost his
footing and began to flounder. "I was thinking of our passengers,"
he said, in the manner of a man clutching at a straw.

"Passengers?" wondered the
Captain, gravely. "What passengers?"

"Why, the Chinamen, sir,"
explained Jukes, very sick of this conversation.

"The Chinamen! Why don't
you speak plainly? Couldn't tell what you meant. Never heard a lot
of coolies spoken of as passengers before. Passengers, indeed!
What's come to you?"

Captain MacWhirr, closing
the book on his forefinger, lowered his arm and looked completely
mystified. "Why are you thinking of the Chinamen, Mr. Jukes?" he
inquired.

Jukes took a plunge, like
a man driven to it. "She's rolling her decks full of water, sir.
Thought you might put her head on perhaps--for a while. Till this
goes down a bit--very soon, I dare say. Head to the eastward. I
never knew a ship roll like this."

He held on in the doorway,
and Captain MacWhirr, feeling his grip on the shelf inadequate, made
up his mind to let go in a hurry, and fell heavily on the couch.

"Head to the eastward?" he
said, struggling to sit up. "That's more than four points off her
course."

Captain MacWhirr was now
sitting up. He had not dropped the book, and he had not lost his
place.

"To the eastward?" he
repeated, with dawning astonishment. "To the . . . Where do you
think we are bound to? You want me to haul a full-powered steamship
four points off her course to make the Chinamen comfortable! Now,
I've heard more than enough of mad things done in the world--but
this. . . . If I didn't know you, Jukes, I would think you were in
liquor. Steer four points off. . . . And what afterwards? Steer four
points over the other way, I suppose, to make the course good. What
put it into your head that I would start to tack a steamer as if she
were a sailing-ship?""

The High Contracting parties,
having mutually recognized the independence of China and Korea, declare
themselves to be entirely uninfluenced by aggressive tendencies in either
country, having in view, however, their special interests, of which those
of Great Britain relate principally to China, whilst Japan, in addition to
the interests which she possesses in China, is interested in a peculiar
degree, politically as well as commercially and industrially in Korea, the
High Contracting parties recognize that it will be admissible for either
of them to take such measures as may be indispensable in order to
safeguard those interests if threatened either by the aggressive action of
any other Power, or by disturbances arising in China or Korea, and
necessitating the intervention of either of the High Contracting parties
for the protection of the lives and properties of its subjects."

"The Ministry met more than passive
resistance to the reforms in monthons Udon [มณฑลอุดร] and Isan
[มณฑลอีสาน]. Prince
Watthana [วัฒนา, 1849 - 1918] and Prince Sanphasitthiprasong
[สรรพสิทธิ ประสงค์, 1857 - 1922] found themselves faced with
a mass up-rising in February of 1902. They
encountered at first a messianic movement, the leaders of
which, known as Holy Men or Phu Mi Bun [ผู้มีบุญ], predicted that the end
of the world was near, that gold and silver would turn to
pebbles and stones, and that a Royal Lord of the Holy Law (Thao
Thammikkarat [ท้าวธรรมิกราช]) would then appear to transform pebbles
and stones into silver and gold. Prince
Sanphasitthiprasong ordered the arrest of Holy Men, when he discovered
that they were taking money, silver, and gold in exchange for
blessing the people for protection against the effects of
doomsday. He then found that the Holy Men rallied the
people not only to protect themselves but also to attack the
authorities.

The Holy Men's rebellion was not, however, just a
messianic movement, for the leaders did express opposition to
the reforms on their own and on behalf of the
inarticulate masses. Prince Sanphasitthiprasong later realized that
some of the Holy Men were the provincial

'petty nobility and
those people who had no power but wished to make a living in
the old ways'.

In other words, the provincial petty nobility resented
the government's formation of large
administrative units and steady reduction of local governmental,
judicial, and financial independence. Phra Yanrakkhit (Chan), the
head abbot of monthon Isan, later explained to the
Prince that the people had spontaneously supported the
Holy Men, because they resented the corruption in the
administration. He said that the officials often did not give receipts
for payment of commutation tax and did not recognize the
validity of animal registration papers in order to be able
to fine and to imprison the people for not complying with the
regulations. The rebellion quickly spread in February and
March, and bands of rebels appeared to attack the authorities
throughout the northeast.

One such band grew so strong that it
attacked, looted, and burnt the provincial town of Khemarat [เขมราฐ]
on the right bank of the Mekong River."

[Quelle: Tej Bunnag [เตช
บุนนาค]
<1943 - >: The provincial
administration of Siam from 1892 to 1915 : a study off the creation,
the growth, the achievements, and the implications for modern Siam,
of the ministry of the interior under prince Damrong Rachanuphap. --
Diss. Oxford : St. Anthonys College,
Michaelmas Term 1968. -- 429 S., Schreibmaschinenschrift. --
S. 271ff. -- Faire use]

1902-02-08

Sisahathep [ศรีสหเทพ]
to Sommot [สมโมท ?]:

"The reason for the
increase in banditry (in monthon Nakhon Ratchasima [มณฑลนครราชสีมา])
was because the commune and village elders...did not tell the
officials about the bandits even if they knew who they were and what
crimes they had committed for they feared the power of the "bandits
more than that of the government."

[Quelle: Tej Bunnag [เตช
บุนนาค]
<1943 - >: The
provincial administration of Siam from 1892 to 1915 : a study off the creation,
the growth, the achievements, and the implications for modern Siam, of the
ministry of the interior under prince Damrong Rachanuphap. -- Diss. Oxford : St.
Anthonys College, Michaelmas Term 1968. -- 429 S.,
Schreibmaschinenschrift. -- S. 348. -- Faire use]

"The domestic silk industry
was unable to repel imports essentially because the production of
silk in Siam was technologically inferior, at all its stages, to
that of other producers in Asia. The sericulture experts who
investigated the condition of the Siamese industry from 1900 to 1910
produced an almost endless list of defects and inadequacies. For
example it was argued that Siamese silkworms were very small and
consequently were capable of secreting only small quantities of
silk. Many worms were seriously diseased. Relatively little care was
taken in rearing the worms. The cocoons were insufficiently firm,
contained a high proportion of waste, and frequently had numerous
perforations. The methods employed in reeling the silk thread were
crude and antiquated. For example little attempt was made to
separate out strands of different length and thickness in order to
produce a uniformly fine thread, and consequently Siamese silk
thread had a coarse, uneven quality that made it suitable for
weaving only rough cloth. Weaving itself was carried out with very
old equipment which made it difficult to produce a delicate material
even with a fine thread."

"Benbadhanabongse, the Prince of Phichai (Thai:
เพ็ญพัฒนพงศ์;
rtgs: Phenphatthanaphong;
13 September 1884 – 11 November 1909) was a Prince of Siam, a member of the
Siamese Royal Family (later
Thailand).
He originated the House of Benbadhana (ราชสกุลเพ็ญพัฒน์).
He was a son of
Chulalongkorn, King Rama V of Siam (1853 - 1910).

Biography

Prince Benbadhanabongse was born on 13 September 1882,
in the compound of the
Grand Palace,
Bangkok.
He was the 38th of King Chulalongkorn and
The Noble Consort (Chao Chom Manda) Morakot Phenkul (เจ้าจอมมารดามรกฎ,
1855 - 1915), daughter of
Lord (Phraya) Mahindrasakdi Dhamrong (เจ้าพระยามหินทรศักดิ์ธำรง / เพ็ง
เพ็ญกุล) and Dame (Thanpuying) Hunn Phenkul (ท่านผู้หญิงมหินทรศักดิ์ธำรง
/). He had an elder sister;
Princess Chudharatana Rajakumari (พระเจ้าบรมวงศ์เธอ
พระองค์เจ้าจุฑารัตนราชกุมารี,
1872 – 1930).

He graduated from the agricultural studies from United
Kingdom in 1903, while he was only 19 years old. After graduating, he began
working as the secretary officer,
Ministry of Education. In 1902, King Chulalongkorn promoted the
country's silk-silverware and weaving industry. He hired Dr. Kametaro Toyama (外山亀太郎,
1867 - 1918)
from
University of Tokyo (東京大学), for teaching and training Siamese students to do
the academic silk and weaving activities in the way of the Japanese culture.
He trained the student of taking care of the silk-pillows, which ready for
weaving. King Chulalongkorn established the Silk-weaving pillow Station in
the sub-district of Sala-Daeng (ศาลาแดง), which let to be in control of the Ministry
of Education. Later in 30 September 1903, the ministry included the
productive division, the division of animal husbandry, and the silk-weaving
pillow station, to created as Department of silk technecians. Prince
Benbadhanabongse became the first director of the department.

The main responsibility of the Department of silk
technecians was on the project of the School of Sericulture, which was
establishing in November 1903 at
Dusit Palace (พระราชวังดุสิต). In 16 January 1904, there was the another School of
Sericulture in
Pathum Wan (ปทุมวัน), for the propose of creating a specialist research and
training the Thai employees. Later this school developed into the current
Kasetsart University (มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์).

พระเจ้าบรมวงศ์เธอ พระองค์เจ้าเพ็ญพัฒนพงศ์
กรมหมื่นพิไชยมหินทโรดม

Prince Benbadhanabongse was given the royal title from
his father as Kromma Muen Phichai Mahintharodom (กรมหมื่นพิไชยมหินทโรดม), or translated as
The Prince of
Phichai on 2 October 1904. He was given the rank of Kromma Meun (กรมหมื่น),
the fifth level of the Krom ranks.

Prince's life

Prince Benbadhanabopngse was interested in the Thai
music instruments. He was able to play almost every kind of the music
instruments. He created the Thai classic music band, called as Prince
Ben's band. After he came back from England, he visited
Chiang
Mai (เชียงใหม่). He met the Chiang Mai princess,
Princess Chomchuen of Chiang Mai (เจ้าหญิงชมชื่น ณ เชียงใหม่
), daughter of
Prince Sambandhavongse Dharmalanka of Chiang Mai (เจ้าราชสัมพันธวงศ์
ธรรมลังกา ณ เชียงใหม่) and
Princess Ghamyon of Lamphun (เจ้าหญิงคำย่น (ณ ลำพูน) ณ เชียงใหม่). They began the relationship. Then he
request the governor of Chiang Mai, having negotiation with Prince
Sambandhavongse about the marriage proposal. But the proposal had been
rejected. Prince Sambandhavongse did not allow his daughter to be marry with
the Siamese prince. So they did not have a chance to marry. This brought
deeply sadness to the prince.

He began composing the song called,
Lao Duang Duan (ลาวดวงเดือน) for remembrance to his lover. He always performed
this song whenever he missed the Princess of Chiang Mai.

Princess Banna Benkae Kritakara (หม่อมเจ้าพรรณเพ็ญแข
เพ็ญพัฒน์, 11 September
1905 – 1 July 1974) later relinquished the royal title, and marriedMom
Rajawongse Banluesakdi Kritakara (หม่อมราชวงศ์บรรลือศักดิ์ กฤดากร), had a son and 2 daughters

"There is not in the whole of Siam
at present one American house competent to consider a business proposition
or a government contract, to push American trade or represent American
interests. Other nationalities are well represented. If trade is sought
out by the American consul, the necessary three months’ delay before
getting a reply jeopardizes American interests. An American business house
should be established in Bangkok. . . . Such a house would have an
excellent business prospect."

"Rivett-Carnac's
[Charles James Rivett-Carnac, 1853
– 1935, britischer Finanzberater]
attempt to constitute himself the General Adviser of the king
[following Rolin-Jaequemyn's death {Gustave
Henri Ange Hippolyte Rolin-Jaequemyns, 1835 - 1902-01-09,
belgischer General Advisor}] is not calculated to facilitate matters
for you.

It may interest you to know
that I have been so much inspired by Carnac's efforts in this
direction, particularly as exhibited in the paper in which he
advocated his neutralisation scheme, that I had already written to
Lord Curzon [George Nathaniel Curzon, 1. Marquess Curzon of
Kedleston, 1859 - 1925] [viceroy of India] begging him to take an
opportunity of giving Carnac a hint to remain within his proper
sphere of activity."

"I have served Your Majesty
for more than thirty-five years; but now I am old. My memory and
energy which have permitted me to serve Your Majesty in important
activities have declined, and are no longer sufficient to the work
which is at present expected of me, and illness has arisen in my
body. I therefore ask Your Majesty’s mercy in releasing me from my
position as Minister of Public Instruction to give me time to
restore my health."

Article 3. This Act shall
not interfere with any sectarian activity or creed, which is, as
before, to be observed by its own Ecclesiastical Governor or chief.
Only the field of public administration (of the Buddhist Church) is
meant to come under the coverage of this Act.

Article 4. The eight Senior Elders are as
follows:

Governor General of the North [เจ้าคณะใหญ่คณะเหนือ].

Governor General of the South [เจ้าคณะใหญ่คณะใต้].

Governor General of the Dhammayutti sect
[เจ้าคณะใหญ่คณะธรรมยุตกา ].

Governor General of the Central part [เจ้าคณะใหญ่คณะกลาง].

Vice-Governor General of the North [เจ้าคณะรอง
คณะเหนือ].

Vice-Governor General of the South [เจ้าคณะรอง
คณะใต้].

Vice-Governor General of the Dhammayutti
sect [เจ้าคณะรอง คณะธรรมยุตกา].

Vice-Governor General of the Central
part [เจ้าคณะรอง คณะกลาง].

These eight are His Majesty’s advisers with
regard to ecclesiastical affairs and administration. As far as
religious matters are concerned, the judgment or decision of the
council of these Elders with a quorum of five under His Majesty’s
grace is considered final, admitting of no further appeal or
protest.

Part III. Monasteries

Article 5. Under this Act monasteries are
classified into three categories as follows: Royal monasteries,
Private monasteries and Ecclesiastical Abode.

By ‘Royal monasteries’ [พระอารามหลวง]
are meant those established by His Majesty or so registered
through His Majesty’s grace.

By ‘Private monasteries’ [อารามราษฎร์นั้น
] are meant those
consecrated by His Majesty’s command but not registered as
‘Royal monasteries.’

By ‘Ecclesiastical Abodes’ [ที่สำนักสงฆ์นั้น] are meant
those monasteries not yet consecrated by His Majesty’s Command
(as any of the previous two categories).

Article 6. Monastery compound and monastery
estate are of three kinds as follows:

Monastery Compound [ที่วัด]. This means the area
wherein various structures of a monastery are situated.

Monastery estate [ ที่ธรณีสงฆ์]. This refers to a piece
of land belonging to a monastery.

Monastery revenue estate [ที่กัลปนา]. This is a
piece of land, the rent or other benefits of which is dedicated
to the upkeep of a monastery. The right of its possession,
however, still belongs to its owner. In some cases they are
pieces of land belonging to His Majesty, while in others they
belong to other people.

Article 7. The monastery compound and
monastery estate are religious property and are under the governing
and protective power of His Majesty, as the Supreme Upholder of the
Faith, thus being incapable of transference of ownership.

Article 8. The authorities of the State are
empowered to look after an abandoned monastery, that is to say, one
in which there lives no Bhikkhu, — together with its estate.

Article 9. Anybody who wishes to build a new
monastery is first to apply for Royal Permission through the
following manners:

A person who wishes to build an
Ecclesiastical Abode is to make known his intention by writing
to the District Officer of the State where the place is located.
The District Officer, together with the Ecclesiastical District
Governor, shall consider

Whether or not the applicant has a
legal right to offer a piece of land as a monastery;

Whether the State will voice a
protest against the existence of a monastery there or not,

Whether it will be a suitable place
for Bhikkhus or not;

Whether or not the existence of a
monastery there will be of any benefit to the people in the
neighbourhood; and

Whether the proposed monastery will
have any undesirable result to Buddhism as a whole or not,
for example, whether or not it will produce any repercussive
effect on the existing monastery in the neighbourhood,
making the latter degenerate or deserted.

In case of the unanimous approval on the
part of the State District Officer and the Ecclesiastical
District Governor with reference to the five points mentioned
above, the latter is authorized by Royal Permission to present
the documents in order to be sealed by the former. The owner of
the land then is to transfer its ownership to the Order of
Sangha before any building process can be started.

In applying either for consecration of a
newly repaired old monastery or for developing an Ecclesiastical
Abode into a monastery, the applicant is required to submit a
report to the Governor of the town in order that the latter may
forward it to His Majesty. In case the site is in Bangkok he can
submit it to the Minister of Religious Affairs so that the
latter may submit it further for His Majesty’s Permission.

In case a new monastery will be built an
application is to be submitted first for the construction of an
Ecclesiastical Abode. After that permission is obtained an
application for official consecration of the site may be
submitted accordingly.

Article 10. There is to be an abbot for a
monastery. Generally, selection and appointment of the abbot for a
Royal Monastery is carried out through His Majesty’s decision.
However, where it is thought advisable, His Majesty may exercise
this power on some private monasteries and some Ecclesiastical
Abodes.

Article 11. With regard to those monasteries
in Bangkok where His Majesty does not choose or appoint the abbot
himself, be they royal monasteries or private ones, it shall be the
duty of the Rajagana District Governor where the monastery is
situated to summon a meeting of the Bhikkhus together with the lay
devotees of that monastery for the sake of selecting the abbot. If
the Rajagana District Governor has decided in favour of any Bhikkhu,
he (the former) is empowered to issue a certificate appointing the
latter to be the abbot. The certificate of appointment shall also be
counter-sealed by the Minister of Religious Affairs.

Article 12. In case of the town monasteries
where His Majesty does not choose or appoint the abbot himself, it
shall be the duty of the Ecclesiastical District Governor to sommon
a meeting of the Bhikkhus together with the lay devotees of that
monastery for the sake of selecting the abbot. In case either of the
unanimous approval of any one Bhikkhu or of a disagreement resulting
in more than one proposed Bhikkhu, the Ecclesiastical District
Governor is to submit a report to the Ecclesiastical Town Governor,
who is vested with the power to issue a certificate appointing the
one whom he prefers to be the abbot. This certificate of appointment
shall also be counter-sealed by the Town Governor of the State.

Now all abbots, unless they have been already
bestowed a higher Ecclesiastical title, shall bear the title of
Adhikara.

Article 13. As far as an abbot’s
responsibilities are concerned, he is required

To maintain and develop his monastery as
well as he can.

To take care not to let his monastery be
the robber’s hiding place.

To govern the Bhikkhus and laymen living
in his monastery.

To maintain law and order and settle the
disputes and quarrels occurring to the Bhikkhus and laymen in
his monastery.

To undertake to establish the Bhikkhus
and laymen in his monastery in right conduct in accordance with
their character and ability.

To monage to educate the children under
his care in accordance with their tendency and aptitude.

To provide lay devotees with proper
facilities for their merit-making in his monastery.

To make a list of the Bhikkhus and
laymen in his monastery together with a report to higher
Ecclesiastical authority.

To issue the identification card to a
Bhikkhu or a Samanera in his monastery who wishes to go on a
journey or to live in another monastery. However, when the abbot
has reason to believe that such a Bhikkhu or a Samanera will
behave disgracefully outside, he may, upon notification to the
suspected Bhikkhu or Samanera, withhold his consent.

Article 14. It is the duty of Bhikkhus,
Samaneras and laymen in a monastery to give a helping hand to the
abbot whenever help is needed.

Article 15. Every Bhikkhu and Samanera must
be enlisted in a monastery.

Article 16. Laymen living in a monastery are,
like all other citizens, to comply with the law of the country.

Article 17. Following is an abbot’s governing
power:

He can govern and admonish Bhikkhus,
Samaneras and laymen in his monastery;

He can settle disciplinary disputes in
his monastery; in the event, however, that it is a civil case,
the abbot may also do so with the unanimous agreement of both
parties;

A Bhikkhu, Samanera or layman cannot
stay in a monastery without obtaining permission from him;

He is empowered not to allow any
disobedient Bhikkhu, Samanera or layman to stay in his
monastery,

In case a Bhikkhu or a Samanera is
disobedient to or violate the abbot’s reasonable and lawful
order or turn against the abbot himself, the abbot is empowered
to impose penalty on the guilty person;

In case a layman is disobedient to or
violate the abbot’s reasonable and lawful order or turn against
the abbot himself, he shall be punished with a fine of not more
than twenty baths at a time or with an imprisonment of one month
or both."

"By command of His Most
Gracious Majesty Pra Poramin Maha Chulalongkorn Pra Chula Chomklao
Chaoyuhua [พระบาทสมเด็จพระปรมินทรมหาจุฬาลงกรณ์ฯ
พระจุลจอมเกล้าเจ้าอยู่หั, 1853 - 1910] it is hereby proclaimed that,
ascommerce in the Kingdom has grown considerably more
than before, circulation of money as a medium of exchange is more
rapid. To carry along a good deal of money each time would be
inconvenient for the people and would waste much of the time of
those in whose hands money frequently passes. His Majesty is
graciously kind to command that, to suit the convenience of the
people, officials of the Ministry of Finance arrange for the making
of documents in place of money called notes to be kept ready for
exchange with the public’s money. This will be in safe custody,
while the notes can be used in its place, thereby rendering counting
and inspection convenient and carrying easier than that of a good
deal of money."

""We would destroy the usefulness of all
the monasteries and the Sangha [พระสงฆ์], which always
have been the support and strength of our religion, and,
moreover, we would put the government in competition with the
Sangha, which we should not do."

The ministry therefore felt it should stay
out of the field of "general primary (samansüksa chan prathom
[สามานย์ศึกษาชั้นประถม

])
education," save only to establish
experimental and model schools. In the field of secondary education,
the ministry recommended that instruction be made more strict,
geared to higher standards, and concentrated at a small number of
schools, perhaps five, at central locations in Bangkok. The ministry
refrained from recommending any measures in the field of higher
education, as it felt that the educational system was not yet,
sufficiently developed to support education at this level.

In the final section of its July proposals,
the ministry presented a serious and detailed discussion of the
problems of upgrading and broadening the curriculum. As on similar
previous occasions, the ministry recognized the degree to which such
improvements depended on the provision of adequate textbooks and
trained teachers, and it recommended the continuation of a concerted
attack on these problems. It expressed also its awareness of the
fact that provincial elementary schools presented qualitative
problems quite different in nature from those of the schools of
Bangkok, not least because of the higher expectations and greater
demands of Bangkok parents for the education of their sons. The
ministry therefore proposed to maintain officially the distinction
between higher primary and lower primary (elementary) schools that
already existed in fact. Primary education was to be divided into
two parts:

each with its own formal curriculum and
examinations, the latter to follow the former. The elementary
curriculum would aim only at providing the rudiments of reading,
writing, arithmetic, geography, and morality, while the primary
curriculum would carry the same subjects to a higher level and
prepare students for secondary education."

"In the region of Phayap
[พายัพ], some thirty or forty Shan
[တႆး] bandits
overwhelmed a large force of gendarmes and, gathering strength
among their fellow countrymen, seized the town of Phrae [แพร่], whose
Lao population joined with them in rebellion against the
Siamese government.

Abb.: Lage von Phrae [แพร่]
[Bildquelle: CIA. -- Public domain]

About twenty Siamese officials who did
not make good their escape were put to death. The news of the
incident alarmed Bangkok which had no troops ready for quick dispatch north.

"It is much more serious than the Rebellion
of the Holy Men for the rebels are neither poorly armed nor
crazy",

The Siam Free Press fanned rumors of a Lao
uprising that would require French intervention. Westerners in Bangkok clamored
for the safety of
colleagues and fellow nationals in the north. Under the stern and opportunistic
eyes of Westerners, King Chulalongkorn's government faced its most serious test
of authority in a former tributary state.

The king’s only recourse was to telegraph the provincial authorities of
Phitsanulok [พิษณุโลก] and Nakhon Sawan
[นครสวรรค์] to muster men and arms wherever they could find
them and to march north to engage the Shan while Bangkok prepared an army.

Meanwhile, the rebellion spread. One force of rebels headed south to defend
against the militia from Phitsanulok and Nakhon Sawan. Another force purposed an
attack on Lampang [ลำปาง] to the West. In the northern Siamese provinces, gateways to
the old tributary Lao states, however well the village headmen lied and tricked,
it was troublesome to muster an old-fashioned army from

"a population of
pleasure-lovers and lotus-eaters scarcely able to hold a weapon".

The words are
King Chulalongkorn's. Only at Phichai [พิชัย] was the militia speedily mustered, by a
stern old-timer who must have seemed to be the king's wrath incarnate, Phraya
Suriyaratchaworanuwat [พระยาสุริยราชวรานุวัตร, 1862 - 1936].

On 3 August, the rebels moving on Lampang were met by
waiting gendarmes commanded by Captain Jensen [Hans
Markvard Jensen, 1878 - 1902], a Danish Advisor, who drove them
off with serious losses. The Shan leader was slain. Shortly afterwards, the
rebels moving south were engaged by Phraya Suriya who held them until he was
reinforced from Sukhothai [สุโขทัย], Sawankhalok
[สวรรคโลก], Nakhon Thai
[นครไทย] and Tak [ตาก]. Then, by weight of
numbers, the rebels were forced back on Phrae. The city was recaptured by a
combined force of gendarmes and militia on 14 August.

Eventually, a royal army
of 2, 000 militia arrived in the north under the command of the seasoned
trouble-shooter, Phraya Surasakmontri [พระยาสุรศักดิ์มนตรี = Saeng
Saeng-Xuto - เจิม แสง-ชูโต, 1851 - 1931]. From Phrae, where his army arrived
exhausted and debilitated, the most heroic military figure of the fifth reign
began a campaign of pacification, to which he was not strange.

A committee of investigation established by General Surasakmontri was convinced
that the rebellion had unexpected political dimensions—that it took its origins

from the opposition of Lao tributary Lords to Siamese government officials (whom Chulalongkom himself once described as "puppet-masters" and "spies"),

from the
grievances of migrant Shan to regulations and taxes,

from the grievances of Lao
peasants against Siamese taxes, labor demands and arrogance

—all of which pressed
heavily after reforms of 1899-1900—and from the complicity of trouble-fishing
French and British consuls. Acting on these findings, whose truth has become the
subject of a minor debate among a couple of modem historians of Thailand",
General Surasakmontri stripped the Lao leaders of Phrae of their power. He
imposed upon Phrae the same form of government as that of the inner Siamese
provinces, manned entirely by outsiders. The Siamese settled into the north as
"an army of occupation" (the king himself transliterated from the English to
describe the relatively new phenomenon). For some time, it was felt, control in
the north would require a strong military presence. The folly of rebellion
against Siamese rule had to impressed on all the neighboring Lao rulers.

Bangkok's view of the Shan Rebellion was not the same
as that of its closest modern students who have not noted
perhaps its major long-term consequence. The king was shaken
by the rebellion and, rather than being impressed with the
rapidity with which Siamese armies were mustered to recapture
Phrae, he was frustrated by tile slowness and difficulty of
marshalling forces against the rebels.

The rebellion took
months to stamp out after it had been broken and a strong
Siamese military presence in the north was considered
essential to law and order in the north long afterwards. As
the culmination of a year of rebellion, when former tributary
states in the north, northeast and south reacted almost
simultaneously against central government control, the Shan
Rebellion confirmed the king's decision to build a large
national conscript army. It was sufficiently important to
be mentioned in the Royal Edict on Universal Conscription when
it was finally promulgated in 1905."

"Sir Ralph Spencer Paget, KCMG, CVO, PC (26 November
1864 – 11 May 1940) was a British diplomat in the Foreign Service, culminating
in his appointment as Ambassador to Brazil in 1918.

Early life and career

Ralph Spencer Paget was born on 26 November 1864, the third
child and second son of Sir Augustus Paget, a career diplomat. His great-uncle,
who died ten years before his birth, was the legendary Henry Paget, 1st Marquess
of Anglesey who had led the cavalry at Waterloo, and his uncle was the
distinguished naval officer Lord Clarence Paget. He was educated at Eton
College, where he won the Prince Consort's prize for German.[1]
He shone at rowing, being part of the winning "Novice Eight" in 1881, which also
won in the Procession of Boats on 4 June of that year and later in the "House
Four".[2] After finishing school he
studied abroad, becoming an "Arabic and Turkish scholar"[3]
before being nominated in April, 1888 attaché in the Foreign Service and sent to
Vienna to serve with his father, the Ambassador to Austria-Hungary. In the
autumn of 1889 he was sent to Egypt to work with Sir Evelyn Baring, the British
Agent and Consul-General, who was in effect the de facto ruler of the
country. While there he "gained an insight into the realities of administrative
reform" while Baring introduced his financial reforms.[1]

He was dispatched in 1891 to Zanzibar, recently exchanged
with Helgoland, and worked with Gerald Portal (the colonial commissioner) to
promote "the first beginnings of European civilisation in the East of Africa".[1]
In June, 1892 he was sent to the British mission in Washington, DC where he
stayed for only a year. In June, 1893 he then joined the legation in Tokyo,
where he served as chargé d'affaires, where he served for six years. In
1895 he was promoted to Second Secretary.[3]
He made such a good impression that upon his arrival the Japanese journal
Nichi Nichi Shimbun wrote;

Mr. Paget has plenty of springs and autumns to come,
the future of great promise [is] before him and [he] will certainly make
himself a name as a diplomatist of mark.[4]

At the beginning of his service in Tokyo the First
Secretary was Gerard Lowther, later one of the architects of the Entente
Cordiale was considered to be acceptable neither to the Chinese or Japanese
lobbies at the time of the Sino-Japanese War and there relied heavily on his
subordinates, Paget included.[5] He
then served for five years under Sir Ernest Satow who took over in Tokyo.

In 1901 Paget was sent to the legation in Guatemala as
chargé d'affaires, though with much increased responsibility as neighbouring
Nicaragua came under his legation's jurisdiction also.[6]
The primary motivation of the diplomatic staff was economic, protecting British
interests in Central America. He was kept busy, and saw varied service in the
two countries. In a 1901 official visit to Nicaragua, his modesty was offended
by the fact that every time he visited a town, he was greeted by brass bands
playing the National Anthem. Despite his diplomatic bearing he felt compelled to
ask that the practice cease. In September 1902 he was promoted and appointed
chargé d'affaires at the Bangkok legation in the Kingdom of Siam.[7]

Sojourn in Siam

In Siam he was quickly put in de facto charge of the
legation due to the recall of the Minister, Sir Reginald Tower (1860 - 1939). The climate was
no better than Guatemala, and the Foreign Office had trouble filling the post
for two years. Eventually, it was decided that after a period as First Secretary
to the Legation from March, 1904 Paget would become Envoy Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary in November at the age of forty.[1]

Upon taking charge in Bangkok he tried to have the
Legation (built 1876) moved to land at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club due to its
nearness to the river and generally unfavourable position. However the Foreign
Office and the Ministry of Works refused to allocate funds and the project was
eclipsed by first Paget's own work, and after his departure by the First World
War.[8]

During his tenure he had to deal with German economic
encroachment in Siam and try and negotiate a new standard in Anglo-Siamese
relations. The status of British nationals in Siam had to be addressed, along
with a long-running dispute over the lengthy Siamese-Malay border and the
construction of a Bangkok-Singapore railway. Paget was able to deal with all of
these issues and brooked no opposition either from London or Bangkok. The
Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 led to four tributary Siamese states coming under
autonomous British control as the Unfederated Malay States, while Britain
recognised Siamese control of four other states, officially demarcating a border
which remains today between Thailand and Malaysia. Under the terms of the treaty,
signed in March 1909, Britain undertook to build a railway between the two
spheres of influence.

Back to Europe

While laying the groundwork for this eventual success, in
1907 Paget married his third cousin once removed, Louise Margaret Leila Wemyss
Paget (1881–1958), daughter of General Sir Arthur Henry Fitzroy Paget. Later
that year he was made a Companion of the Royal Victorian Order. In 1908 he was
seriously considered for the position of British Ambassador to the German Empire
in succession to Frank Lascelles.[9]
Instead he was dispatched to Munich to become the Minister Resident in the
Kingdom of Bavaria and the Kingdom of Württemberg, where his workload was
relatively light as all major diplomatic intercourse taking place at the
consulate in Berlin.

In recognition of his services in Siam, Paget was promoted
Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George in the King's
Birthday Honours for 1909 and knighted.[10]

Despite being popular in his new position, Paget managed
to alienate the Permanent Under-Secretary back in Whitehall, Sir Charles
Hardinge with his "mild" reports.[11][12]
He would only be able to return to work at the Foreign Office in 1913, when
Hardinge had been ennobled and made Viceroy of India.[13]
In July 1910 Paget was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Serbia,[14]
being succeeded in Munich by Sir Vincent Corbett.

George V, wrote a letter to the Prince Regent of Bavaria
personally informing him of Sir Ralph's departure from Germany.[15]
The news of Paget's promotion to Minister to Serbia was announced in The
Times on 5 August 1910.[16]

Minister in Serbia

Paget arrived in Serbia on 21 September 1910[17]
and presented his credentials to King Petar three days later.[18]

Return to England

In August 1913 Paget was called back to England and appointed
an Assistant Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in succession to Sir
Louis Mallet.[19]

Brazil

On 26 September 1918 it was announced that the Legation in
Rio de Janeiro was being upgraded to an Embassy and that Paget had been approved
by the King to be the first Envoy Extraordinary and Ambassador Plenipotentiary
to Brazil.[20] His departure was
delayed however by being a permanent official of the British delegation to the
Paris Peace Conference with responsibility for the Balkans. Most of the salient
points of the Paget-Tyrrell Memorandum for the distribution of Central and
Eastern Europe were eventually adopted. On 18 August 1919 he was sworn a member
of the Privy Council before finally taking up his appointment in Brazil.[21]
He arrived in Rio in style, having been transported from the West Indies, where
he had "been employed on a special mission"[22]
being transported in the battle cruiser HMS Renown, arriving on 2 October.[23]
On 8 October he was officially received by President Pessoa.

He spent only a year in Brazil though, despite being a
success there, being awarded the honorary presidency of the British Chamber of
Commerce in Brazil. Before he had been appointed to the post, he had written to
a friend; "What I really long for in my innermost heart is an old cotton shirt,
an old pair of pants, a good horse and open prairie or desert." In conversation
with Sir John Tilley, who at the time Assistant Secretary at the Foreign Office,
he was reminded that his ultimate ambition had been to become an ambassador. He
responded that the goal was fulfilled as soon as the appointment was made.
Paget's plan to increase British immigration in Brazil was thwarted by the
Overseas Settlement Office. Eventually recurring bad health and a bout of
depression forced him to tender his resignation in August 1920.[citation
needed]

Retirement

After 1920 Sir Ralph Paget lived a further twenty years in
the obscurity of private life. When in October 1934 the Yugoslav King Aleksandar
I was assassinated, Lady Paget visited Belgrade and was present at his funeral.
Sir Ralph passed away on 10 May 1940 while in Saint-Raphaël, France. His widow,
Dame Louise Paget, continued her active interest in the Balkans. With the German
invasion of Yugoslavia and the influx of Yugoslavian exiles into Britain, she
did all she could to assist those in need, including selling her estate in
Surrey. She died at Kingston upon Thames on 24 September 1958."

long will
the British Government
uphold Siam as an
independent State?' ...The answer to this question, apart from the eventualities of
international politics,... must depend on the Siamese
themselves. If Siam is capable of taking care of herself; if it
is a real, effective buffer state, strong and friendly; if our
political influence here is secure and our commercial interests
not merely safeguarded but capable of fair development; then it
may be presumed that it is to our interest to maintain the
independence of Siam. If, on the other hand, Siam is too feeble
to æ- pel
aggression and incapable of governing her own territories; if
our legitimate political influence were to count as nothing and
our commercial interests were repressed or in jeopardy, then it
would be a question indeed whether it is wise to try and instil
life into the dying man."

[...]

,,[T]he prospect of strengthening our
position in Siam is so good that, provided the British
Government encourage the introduction of British officials and
extraneous complications do not intervene, it is not too rash to
estimate that before very long the position of Great Britain in
the administration of Siam will not be very dissimilar to that
in Egypt, without the burden of military occupation."

"To which of her neighbours
will Siam eventually fall? The French practically say, without
disguise, that they would like to absorb Siam. The British as
clearly say they do not want to do so. The French Indo-Chinese
Empire is young, and capable of great development with an increase
of territory. It is, therefore, the natural, even laudable, ambition
of every patriotic Frenchman who favours colonial expansion to
develop this Empire by joining to it an extremely rich country that,
so far from adding to the financial burdens, would certainly
alleviate them. On the British side, however, we have the immense
Indian Empire which does not require expansion but consolidation and
security against foreign invasion. It is, I again presume, with this
end that the policy of a buffer state between our possessions and
the French has come to be considered and adopted."

"When you are a military
cadet, you must resolve to study military expertise in order to
protect our homeland and save it from danger, as befits a military
man’s duty. You must embrace the sorrows as well as the joys of our
homeland—do not be a soldier only when there is no war."

"We have rather perverted the administration of the Lao provinces and the Seven Malay
Provinces from its true state. It can also be said that
we have imported but have misused a foreign model
of administration. ...

When the British use this model of
administration, they go to advise and to supervise rulers
whom they treat as the owners of the
provinces...We, on the other hand, treat the provinces as
ours, which is not true, for the Malays and the Lao consider that the provinces belong to them. When we
say that we are going to trust them, we do not really do so, but send commissioners and deputy
commissioners to supervise them. The commissioners and deputy commissioners are then empowered
only either to manipulate them as puppets or,
if that is not possible, to spy on them and to
pass on their secrets. We cannot, however, really
protect ourselves against anything in this way. I do not think that an administration,
which is so full of deviousness, can result in our
mutual trust and peace of mind."

The King ended his letter on a
pessimistic note by saying that he was

"sorry not to have any
solution (for this problem) at the moment"."

[Quelle: Tej Bunnag [เตช
บุนนาค]
<1943 - >: The provincial
administration of Siam from 1892 to 1915 : a study off the creation,
the growth, the achievements, and the implications for modern Siam,
of the ministry of the interior under prince Damrong Rachanuphap. --
Diss. Oxford : St. Anthonys College,
Michaelmas Term 1968. -- 429 S., Schreibmaschinenschrift. --
S. 278f. -- Faire use]

Abb.: Goldstandard: "there have been deposited in the Treasury of the United
States one hundred Dollars in gold coin repayable to the bearer on demand",
USA 1922
[Bildquelle: Wikimedia. -- Public domain]

"In December of the same year, it signed an Agreement with
Kelantan [كلنتن ] whereby it was enabled to send an Adviser, a Deputy
Adviser, and other officials as long as they confined
themselves to foreign relations and communications, took only
10% of the revenue, did not interfere in the internal
administration, and did not 'erase' the traditional authority
of the Sultan. It

sent an Englishman, W.A. Graham
[Walter Armstrong Graham, 1868 – 1949], as its Adviser to Kelantan in July of 1903. In the course of the
following six years, it sent five other Englishmen, a Deputy
Adviser, a Secretary, a Superintendent of Lands, a
Superintendent of Police, and a Public Works Officer, and two Siamese, a judge and a
medical officer, to assist the Adviser. Graham
and his colleagues did not, however, confine themselves
only to foreign relations and communications, for they did
interfere in Kelantan's administration, and initiated the first
stages of the integration of the state. They introduced and began
to collect, for instance, export, import, and
kerosene oil taxes. They won the co-operation of the Sultan and
the other members of Kelantan's nobility by helping them to
make the rice tax more productive and by giving them 90%
of the increasing revenue. In this way, they persuaded them
to appoint commune and village elders and to abolish such
traditional forms of punishment as mutilation for robbery.

The Ministry did not, however, manage to enter into an agreement
which would have enabled it to send an Adviser to Trengganu [ ترڠڬانو]."

[Quelle: Tej Bunnag [เตช
บุนนาค]
<1943 - >: The
provincial administration of Siam from 1892 to 1915 : a study off the creation,
the growth, the achievements, and the implications for modern Siam, of the
ministry of the interior under prince Damrong Rachanuphap. -- Diss. Oxford : St.
Anthonys College, Michaelmas Term 1968. -- 429 S.,
Schreibmaschinenschrift. -- S. 282f. -- Faire use]